Chapter Ten

Callum

"Are you sure it's a good idea to go over there?" Chris asked as I made my way over to Pasha's apartment building.

Avyn sent me the address early this morning and told me they would be ready to start moving by eleven.

"It's a fine time to ask, Chris. I'm already on the way."

"I don't know about this. I don't want you to get your feelings hurt. I know you still think about that night, man."

It was true. I did think about that night. Four months had passed, and I still thought about it every time I passed that hotel. I thought about it whenever I went to my contacts and saw Avyn's number. Chris told me months ago that the situation somehow embedded itself inside me.

I wasn't sure why, but it had been my experience that I had to see it through when I felt strongly about something. It never let up on my mental if I ignored it.

"I'm just helping her move, Chris. Nothing more, nothing less."

"If you say so. Are you still coming over for the barbecue later?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. There's not much to move. At least that's what was said this morning."

"All right, well, I'll see you later, man."

"See you later."

The call disconnected, and the music I previously listened to resumed playing through my speaker. This was my Saturday morning cleaning playlist. It was filled with some of my parents' favorite music, an ode to them of sorts.

Every Saturday morning, my mother would have Bella and me up, cleaning the whole house. We knew that time was when Betty Wright's "Clean Up Woman" came blaring through my father's stereo. Even though the song wasn't about cleaning, it was just like a wake-up call. Since I was about to help Pasha move into her place, I needed to get in a cleaning mood like I did when I cleaned my own house.

Ten minutes later, I pulled up in front of the apartment building. It was located in a semi quiet part of town, close to the university. I assumed mostly college students dwelled here since almost every person I saw walking in and out carried a backpack. I climbed out of my truck and headed inside to the tenth floor, where Avyn said she lived. I counted the numbers on the door until I came to ten twenty-one. Taking a deep breath, I knocked. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Avyn greeted me with a smile.

"Hey, Callum. Come on in."

She opened the door wider to allow me entry. Stepping in, I noted how spotless it was. Everything was neat, organized, and color coordinated.

"You have a nice place," I said.

"Thank you."

"Baby, I think we can play Tetris with this furniture—Callum Ellis."

I grinned when I realized the voice belonged to a good friend at the police department.

"Malcolm Holbrook."

He came over and shook my hand. "What the hell are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"You two know each other?" Avyn asked, folding her arms.

"We go back a few years," Malcolm answered. "How are you, man? How's the family?"

"Bella is good. Precious is growing like a weed and spending all my money."

He chuckled. "Admit it. You love spoiling her."

"I do. That's my lil' baby."

"How do you know my lady?"

"He's actually a friend of Pasha's," Avyn answered. "Say hello to your help for the day."

He shook his head. "I forgot... You don't do manual labor."

She smirked. "I'm glad you know this. Anyway, Pash is downstairs doing some last-minute cleaning. She wanted the place spotless before we moved anything."

I raised an eyebrow. "She's moving downstairs?"

"Yes. An apartment became available, so we hopped right on it. It works out since we carpool to work together."

"That makes sense. I'm glad she accepted your help."

"She didn't have much of a choice. I can be quite pushy."

"That's an understatement," Malcolm mumbled with a sly smile.

"I can also be petty," Avyn said firmly.

Malcolm kissed her cheek. "I'm joking, love."

"Mmm-hmm. Why don't you take Callum to the guest room, and you two can figure out how you will move everything." She grabbed two huge rolling suitcases and headed for the door. "She's in apartment eight seventeen. Don't get to chitchatting and take all damn day."

"I hear you, woman. Go on."

She rolled her eyes as she walked out the door.

"I swear she gives me hell sometimes, man. Women."

He shook his head as he led me down the hallway to the guest room. Upon entering, I was surprised to see it so clean since someone was moving out.

"So, how long have you been seeing this friend?" he asked.

"Oh, um, technically, we aren't seeing each other like that. I helped her out a few months back. I saw them at the store yesterday and offered my assistance with moving."

He smirked. "Sounds like somebody is trying to get in where he fits in. I ain't mad at you. Pasha is a beautiful woman; after all she's been through, she could use a good man."

"I'm not—"

"Callum, I know you well enough to know you don't do hookups. You saw something in her. Just know you're gonna need a lot of patience with that one. She's closed off and doesn't say too much. Avyn loves her to death, though. She won't admit it, but she's sad she's moving out. However, she's determined to be a supportive friend. She'll cry about it later."

"How long have you two been seeing each other."

"About a year. Nothing is official... but that's my lil' baby. Maybe one of these days, I'll get her to commit to me."

He sighed, and I could tell that was probably an ongoing battle he'd clearly been losing. We made small talk as we followed each other's lead in maneuvering the bedroom furniture out into the living room. We decided it was best to get everything out first to save time. I compared the elevator's size with the furniture's size and figured we could get it all in two trips.

After moving the first load down the hall, we packed it in the elevator and headed down. When we got to Pasha's apartment, the door was slightly ajar.

"Knock, knock!" Malcolm yelled, pushing it open with his foot.

Avyn and Pasha appeared from around the corner. Our eyes briefly met as we maneuvered the heavy dresser through the space to the area designated for the bedroom. It sat behind a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf that served as the partition that separated the living and sleeping quarters. I was just about to ask where she wanted it, but then I noticed the Post-it Notes on the wall labeling the designated furniture spots.

I pointed it out to Malcolm, and we put the dresser in place.

"Good morning," I said, offering her a warm smile.

"Good morning. Thank you again for coming to help. I'm sure you had better things to do today."

"On the contrary, I didn't have any plans. I'm all yours today."

"Well, I'll try not to keep you too long."

I didn't mind. She could keep me all day. She looked cute in her track pants, plain white tee, and a baseball cap with her curls sticking out from under it. In seeing her yesterday, her spirit felt lighter. There wasn't that dark cloud of sadness cast over her. Her eyes weren't red from crying. She had a faint air of happiness.

"It's no problem. How are you feeling about all this?"

She smiled softly. "I'm happy I'm in a position to do better for myself. I've never lived alone, so it'll take some getting used to. But it's mine, and nobody can put me out when they feel like it."

"Amen to that. For what it's worth, I'm proud of you. I don't know you, but you were heavy on my spirit for a long time, Pasha. I don't think I've ever prayed so hard for someone I didn't know."

Again, she smiled. "Well, I've never thanked God so much for a stranger. You blessed me that night. I had no idea where I was going or what I would do. You provided me with a place to rest my head and your kindness..."

She paused momentarily to swipe the tear in the corner of her eye. She closed them and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Because of you, I've reconnected with some of the only people who truly love me. I needed them more than I realized."

"I love that for you."

"I know Avyn said the room was partially refunded, but I'd like to pay you back the rest—"

I held up a hand to stop her. "You'll do no such thing. I told you, I'm not worried about the money."

"At least let me pay you for today."

I gently took her hand. "Pasha... It's okay. I'm happy to be of service. This is a big step for you. I just want to support you."

She squeezed my hand. "Thank you."

We stared at each other for a moment. Damn, I could get lost in those eyes of hers. She was so beautiful... so resilient and deserving, and she didn't even know it. I knew so little about her, yet looking into her eyes, I wanted to know everything. Suddenly, Malcolm cleared his throat, breaking us out of our trance. We looked over to find him and Avyn giving us curious looks. I didn't realize I was still holding her hand until she let mine go.

"You ready to get the rest of this stuff?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah."

I left Pasha with a smile as we headed back into the hall to grab the items we left beside the elevator.

Malcolm chuckled. "I see why you agreed to come help out."

I feigned ignorance. "I don't know what you mean."

He kissed his teeth. "You're a terrible liar, Callum. Not only that, but you also wear your emotions on your sleeve like a badge of honor. You're attracted to Pasha."

"I mean, she's beautiful; you said that yourself."

"Nah, man. I see her beauty as a woman. You... You see it as something you want to experience for yourself. What happened between y'all?"

"Nothing. I just... If you'd seen her that night, you'd understand, Malcolm. She was broken. I watched her husband speak to her like some nigga on the street. He kicked her out of her home and moved his pregnant side chick in. The pain and hurt I saw in her face that night was nothing like I'd ever seen. I've thought about that woman so many times over the last couple of months. I've prayed for her heart and her mind. I don't know what it is, but I couldn't seem to shake her."

"Damn, man. That's deep. Who knows. She could be the one. Sometimes, heartbreak is a setup for a hell of a breakthrough. I don't know what or how you're gonna do it, but good luck with that. I mean it."

I didn't say anything as we approached the furniture. I knew it was too soon to pursue anything with this woman. After all, she was in the middle of what I could only assume was a nasty divorce. She didn't need me trying to push up on her, and I would never be that insensitive or disrespectful. However, I did want to offer her friendship. If she was open to that, maybe, just maybe, it was a start.